[lurker97kr]

Hello!

I recently got Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and it runs quite horribly on my PC because it has an internal graphics card. I have to adjust the settings all the way down to low and even then it stutters and lags in certain places. Anyway, I haven't really been keeping up with tech news and lingo now for a few years and so after doing a couple of Google searches I'm stumped on what DX11 GFX cards are and what the difference is between PCI-E 2.0 and 2.1 and what version my motherboard has.

I'm hoping someone here will help recommend a great graphics card for me that is able to run games such as Skyrim, Oblivion (and maybe GTAIV) on good graphics. It doesn't have to be great or run on max settings, but it does have to look nice and be smooth. I hope you know what I mean.

Anyway here's what I have now

Windows 7 Home Edition
Intel DG41RQ Motherboard (and internal sound, internal graphics and whatever the rest come with it)
Pentium Dual Core E5400 @ 2.7 Ghz
2 GB of RAM

My budget is around $100 but if there's a great card out there I'm willing to go up to around $150.

NOTE: Back in 2008, on my older PC I got a card which eventually ended up overheating and going kaput in a month So perhaps the recommendations will also factor in reliability as well.

Thank you!

Edited by lurker97kr, 20 June 2013 - 03:23 PM.

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Hello

First,what wattage is your PSU that you are using now?

[Veeg]

Hello

First,what wattage is your PSU that you are using now?

[iammykyl]

Gday.

I'm stumped on what DX11 GFX cards are and what the difference is between PCI-E 2.0 and 2.1 and what version my motherboard has.

You have PCI Express, revision 1.1, x16 interface supports the PCI Express GEN1 frequency of 1.25 GHz
Video cards are backwards compatible, so even if you install a GTX 660ti, (PCI Express 3.0 x16) it will still work but you won't get the very best performance from the card.


In case you no longer have your MB specifications.
> Intel® Desktop Board DG41RQ Technical Product Specification

As Veeg stated,

First ,what wattage is your PSU that you are using now?

If you are unsure, give us the brand and model. Without the info, we can't make a recommendation.

[lurker97kr]

Hey guys, thanks for the taking the time to respond!

First,what wattage is your PSU that you are using now?

If you are unsure, give us the brand and model. Without the info, we can't make a recommendation.

I opened up my PC and took a look. It's apparently an ATX-C350A with Max. Output Power of 350W.
I took a picture of notice on the side of the PSU for futher information



Thanks guys.

Edited by lurker97kr, 21 June 2013 - 05:40 AM.

[iammykyl]

Gday.
Glad to help.
Thanks for the update and picture. The +3.3v & +5v are OK, the +12v rail @ 18A for a decent GPU is to low. By the time you calculate the power requirements for the rest of the system a 350W will not support a good performing GPU. The recommended PSU for most GPUs today is 500w.
Your last card possible burned out if it was being supplied by a low power PSU.

Is your computer a Dell, HP, or similar? Please give the Model and number. ex. (HP, Compaq, 600d)
Does the PSU have a brand name on it? like CWT/sertec/Redmax. If not, you will have to measure it and take a picture of the back where the switch is.
You may be able to spot it on this page.
> http://www.atxpowersupplies.com/

[Veeg]

Just a note and worth considering,if you plan on proceeding with a new graphics card and probably a new psu you may run over your budget of 150 bucks.. Also i would suggest that you stick with a PCI 2.0 card if all possible,it seems it is more compatible with older mobo's that PCI 3.0 is..Reports are saying the PCI 3.0 may not work on some older mobo's...

[lurker97kr]

Is your computer a Dell, HP, or similar? Please give the Model and number. ex. (HP, Compaq, 600d)
Does the PSU have a brand name on it? like CWT/sertec/Redmax. If not, you will have to measure it and take a picture of the back where the switch is.
You may be able to spot it on this page.
> http://www.atxpowersupplies.com/

No my computer isn't branded, my dad and I put it together and assembled it a few years ago since we wanted to save money. The PSU doesn't seem to have a brand name on it as well. I did take a picture of the back where the switch is -> Bit Dusty Eh?. Although I'm not sure how much this will help. I don't understand what you mean by "measure it". Sorry.

Just a note and worth considering,if you plan on proceeding with a new graphics card and probably a new psu you may run over your budget of 150 bucks..

Yeah, I realized that just now too. I'm willing to dish out separately for the PSU if it prevents my system from exploding.

So let's just assume I'm going to buy a 500W PSU, for the recommendations.

[Veeg]

Still looking for vid cards for your system,here is one link from Newegg... http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814130808

[lurker97kr]

Still looking for vid cards for your system,here is one link from Newegg... http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814130808

Hey thanks for the suggestion. That card looks great, except a lot of the comments say it failed in 6 months.

I did some looking around myself and was able to spot a few cards I liked, with good comments and within my price range. What do you guys think of these?

SAPPHIRE Ultimate Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 - $90 - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814102950

SAPPHIRE 100323-2L Radeon HD 6570 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 - $50 - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814102994

ECS NGT440-512QI-F1 GeForce GT 440 (Fermi) 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 - $70 - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814134138

GIGABYTE GV-R667D3-2GI Radeon HD 6670 2GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 - $70 - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814125430

Honestly the first card on the list that I've highlighted in bold seems to impress me. What do you guys think?

[iammykyl]

Gday.
2 PSUs to consider. When upgrading your computer, they would power almost any single GPU gaming build.
> http://www.newegg.co...%24%24%24%24%24

GPU. These 2 cards across many Pro reviews are considered, "Best Bang for the Buck" Put types up first on Newegg for comparison. > http://www.newegg.co...%24%24%24%24%24

Best price I could find, HD 7770 > http://www.microcent..._x16_Video_Card

Nest tier up, if you can stretch the funds, EVGA 02G-P4-3653-KR, > http://www.newegg.co...ID=3938566&SID=

Lookng at the cards you put up.
The GT 440, no
The 6xxx Mmmm, OK, Passmark, > http://www.videocard...et/gpu_list.php
for that bit more the 7770 is much better. Passmark, > http://www.videocard...et/gpu_list.php